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(No Model.)

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SING DEVICE FOR ELE AL TORPEDO FUSES.

Patented Mar. 19, 1889.

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avwewtoz UNITED STATES PATENT Fries.

JAMES IVEIR GRAYDON, OF \VASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, ASSIGNOR TOROBERT SOUTHW'ORTH LAlVRENOE, OF LONDON, JNGLAND.

CIRCUIT-CLOSING DEVICE FOR ELECTRICAL TORPEDO-FUSES.

SPECIFICATION forming par; of Letters Patent No. 399,876, dated March19, 1889.

Application filed October 9, 1888.

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, JAMES WEIR GRAYDON, a citizen of the United Statesof America, residing at \Vashington, District of Columbia, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Circuit-Closing Devices forElectrical Torpedo-Fuses, of which the following is a specification,reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

My invention relates to a circuitclosing device for electricaltorpedo-fuses; and it has for its object to provide a circuit-closer forthis purpose which will be operated automati cally when the torpedo hasdescended to a predetermined depth in the water.

The invention will first be described in connection with theaccompanying drawing, and then clearly pointed out in the claims.

The drawing is a longitudinal section of a torpedo-shell provided withan electric battery and my improved circuit-closer, the battery and thefuse-tube being shown in elevation.

A represents the torpedo-shell closed at the rear end by a screw-plug,B.

O are'the battery-cups, which are held in place by a boxing, D, restingagainst the inner side of plug B, which boxing in turn is held in placeby the bursting-charge to be placed in the charge-chamber E of thetorpedo.

F represents a perforated fuse-tube, of any suitable rigid material,extending from the front end to near the rear end of the chargechamber.The rear end of this tube passes through a perforation in the boxing,and is held a short distance from the plug B by a flange, f, which restsagainst the front of the boxing. The tube is filled with any suitablefuse material inclosed in thin paraffined paper, and to its lower end issecured a platinum disk, G, with which are connected wires n p fromopposite poles of the battery, which disk, when the circuit throughbattery-wires N P is closed, will become highly heated and ignite thefuse.

I lay no claim herein to the electrical fuse shown and described, asthat forms the subj cot-matter of another application filed by me ofeven date herewith, Serial No. 287,631,

Serial No. 287,628. (No model.

the claims of this application being restricted to an electriccircuit-closer as applied to an electrical fuse for torpedoes andadapted to be operated by the pressure of the water when the torpedo hasreached a predetermined depth.

My invention, which I will now proceed to describe, is based upon theprinciple that the pressure of a body of water at a given depth is thesame under all conditions, and that this pressure upon a certainsuperficial area is susceptible of being definitely ascertained.Therefore, in order that a given resistance may be overcome at a certaindepth of water it is only necessary that that resistance should beslightly less than the pressure of the water upon it at that depth.

In an opening in the shell of the torpedo, leading into thecharge-chamber, I screw a tube, T, the bore of which for about one-halfof its length is of small diameter, as seen at 1, the bore of the innerhalf of the tube being considerably larger, as seen at 2, and the innerend of the tube is screw-threaded on the inner side for the reception ofa screw-cap, 3, for holding the spring in the tube.

II represents the circuit-closing plug, to the outer end of which issecured a disk, h, which fits neatly in the enlarged bore 2 of the tube,

so as to exclude water.

A spring, I, is coiled around the plug H, its

end of the tube T, each provided with a contact-plate, 5, the free endsof these plates being bent outward into the path of the cir cuit-closingplug. The battery-wires N Pare also secured to the binding-screws in amanner common in electrical devices.

It will be apparent that when the torpedo has reached the predetermineddepth in the water the pressure of the water will overcome the tensionof the spring and force the circuit-closing plug inward between thecontactplates, an rl thus establish the electric circuit, when the fusewill be ignited and the explosion will take place.

Having thus described my inven tion, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination, with a torpedo-shell provided on the inside with anelectric battery, the current from which is norm ally broken, of aspring-pressed circuit-closing plug seated in the shell and adapted tobe moved forward to close the circuit by the pressir'e of the water whenthe torpedo has reached a predetermined depth in the water.

2. The combination, with a torpedosl1ell provided on the inside with anelectric battery, the current from which is normally broken, of ascrew-threaded tube inserted in an opening in the shell, and aspring-pressed circuitclosing plug seated. within said tube, the tubebeing provided with means for confining the spring, the tension of whichis so regulated as to be overcome by the pressure of the water when. thetorpedo has reached. a

predetermined depth, and thus allow the plug to be moved forward toclose the circuit, substantially as described.

The combination, with a torpedo-shell provided on the inside with anelectric battery, the current from which is normally broken, of a tubeinserted in an opening in the shell, the bore of the tube being largerat the inner end than at the outer end, a circuit-closing plug providedwith a disk at its outer end seated in the larger bore of the tube, anda spring coiled around the plug, and bearing at one end against the diskand at the otherend against a stop at the inner end of the tube, thetension of the spring being so regulated that it will be overcome by thepressure of the water when the torpedo has reached a predetermineddepth, and thus allow the circuit-closing plug to be moved Forward toclose the circuit, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix m y signature in presence of two witnesses.

JAMES \VEIR GRA YDON.

\Vitnesses:

M. HUNTER MYERs, CHARLES F. RoBEi-rrs.

